An art installation in East London at the Smithfield Meat Market. The meat market is not, of course, selling actual human meat, but they are selling meat, mostly pork varieties, rather disturbingly shaped to resemble humans. Along with a variety of human ears, hands, feet, and heads, brave consumers can also purchase carefully recreated sausage fingers and, yes, phalluses.

We need to stop and think. We have lots of factual information that we ignore. Ultimately, our ignorance is going to prove 'fatal' to our entire species. That may sound extreme, but it is not. We know that climate change from global warming, in the long run, will lead to our demise. We also know that livestock farming directly contributes 18% of human produced greenhouse gas emissions on a worldwide basis. This is more than all emissions from ships, planes, trucks, cars and all other transport put together.

Apparently, those people who are actively working to control climate change by advocating for changes in our behavior don't want to give up their favorite foods. The information is in and, to some degree, we all know where we stand but eating those dishes of habit from childhood take priority over saving our planet for the benefit of our children and grandchildren. Our eating habits are directed by taste instead of common sense. Our eating habits are directed by the price rather than concern for the environment. We give up certain things we like, sugar for example, because of 'health concerns' but that is only focused on immediate concerns rather than long term concerns. Our food choices must change.

Disease and pestilence enter into the picture, also. In this country, an estimated 23 thousand people die every year because from bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics. At the very least, this is because we use 80% of all antibiotics in the treatment of livestock. Good for the pharmaceutical industry... bad for humans.

Consuming all of that 'red meat' is killing us directly. No need to wait for climate change; we get the immediate bad health consequences of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancers among a list of other diseases.

Eating meat is not required for meeting our needs for protein. There is sufficient protein for human health in nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes. Some vegetables are also sources for protein: broccoli, corn, brussel sprouts, potato, spinach, and peas, for example.

Eating meat is not good from any perspective. It is not good for the animals we eat (especially the treatment afforded them up to slaughter). It is not good for the environment. And, it is not good for us.

There are only a very few things that the individual is able to do to have a world-wide effect. If one truly cares about the environment and the future world to be occupied by their children and grandchildren, then becoming vegan is the single best thing one can do... and that's. the truth !!!

The poultry industry is the biggest user of crop-based feed, using more than 40 percent of the world's feed in 2009.

In a study titled "Appetite for Destruction," the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) revealed on Thursday that humans' consumption of meat is having a devastating impact on global biodiversity in a way that's too often considered.

In addition to causing greenhouse gas emissions and using up huge quantities of water and land, industrial farming requires massive amounts of crop-based feed for animals, which puts "an enormous strain on our natural resources and is a driving force behind wide-scale biodiversity loss."

If the global appetite for meat grows as expected, says the report, "it's estimated that soy production would need to increase by nearly 80% to feed all the animals destined for our plates."

The industrial farming sector is also having a negative impact on humans' health, as a reliance on feeding animals crops like corn and soy has been linked to a lack of healthy omega-3 content in the meat people eat.

"You'd have to eat six intensively reared chickens today to obtain the same amount of the healthy omega-3 fatty acid found in just one chicken in the 1970," says the study. "The majority of calories from chicken come from fat as opposed to protein."

The study points to a number of vulnerable parts of the earth, including the Amazon, the Yangtze and Mekong river basins, and the Himalayas as already suffering from major strain as food producers look for places to grow feed crops, while being inadequately protected by conservation efforts. Thousands of species living in these regions would be at risk if more manufacturers were to look to them for crop production.

The study stresses that while there is plenty of food to feed the human population, more efficient and fair systems of distributing food are needed to ensure that these areas are not overrun by feed crop producers."We already produce enough to feed the world," reads the report. "But over-consumption, inequality, waste, and inadequate production and distribution systems stand in the way of enough food for everyone and space for wildlife."

The WWF says that simple portion control would go a long way in reducing animal farming's impact on the earth: If everyone reduced the amount of animal products that they ate to meet their nutritional requirements, the total agricultural land required would decline by 13 percent...An area 1.5 times the size of the European Union—would be saved from agricultural production.

As a potential innovation that could save much of the earth's biodiversity, the study also points to alternative feed options that don't need the vast areas of land required by crops like soy beans and corn. "We believe it's possible, and essential, to change food production systems and consumption patterns to secure enough nutritionally complete and environmentally sustainable food for everyone on Earth," says the report.